Category Archives: Rap

So this guy is pretty much the man… He’s an unsigned hip-hop artist out of Boston, MA who produces his own music. He’s like a young Lupe Fiasco on lyrical steriods. You can get most of his music for free off of his facebook page.

Donald Glover is most commonly known as Troy from NBC’s hit show Community, but there is much more to this cat than his acting. His stand-up is hilarious, he can rap – using his alias Childish Gambino (which I recently found out came from the Wu-Tang name generator), he can write, but I think he’s an even better intellectual. I’d have to say Donald is one of the most inspirational people I’ve come across; he’s been fighting the stigma that black kids can’t make it in America without striking it rich in the NBA or NFL, and his work has been this stigma’s most formidable antithesis.

This guy’s almost a carbon copy of J. Cole – same style, same hometown, same name (almost)… Good thing J. Cole has a very distinctive voice, otherwise it would be nearly impossible to tell their tracks apart. They’re both headed for success… Sheesh, this is gonna be confusing.

I can’t describe this guy much better than the “about” section on his website:

In an era saturated with upstart MCs all vying for the coveted status of “next big thing”, the story of 24-year old North Carolina native J. Cole (born Jermaine Cole) is a refreshing exception to the quick route for fame and success. The first artist signed to Jay-Z’s new Roc Nation label, Cole made himself notable through a scholarly approach to the game – no small feat considering his Magna Cum Laude distinction upon graduating from St. John’s University.

If his sudden christening by JAY-Z shocked the haters, their doubts were quickly refuted when J. Cole dropped his recent mixtape The Warm Up, as well as a coveted guest verse on JAY-Z’s Blueprint 3 with “A Star is Born”. Soulful and strong, J. Cole’s lyrics touch on everything from his upbringing in North Carolina to the poverty and hopelessness that affect his community. The mixtape encapsulates not just who J. Cole is as a rapper, but who he is as an artist and a person.

Taking from his favorite artists a love for powerful storytelling with an intense inner-strength, J. Cole advanced to writing his own lyrics at 15, soon amassing stacks of notebooks filled with rhymes and observations. Without a DJ or producer to provide a beat, he industriously started creating his own using a beat machine given as a present by his mother. From then on J. Cole was constantly creating new music and lyrics leading to his current and flow.

Not to be confused with the rapper, Slim Thug, Slim Thugz are an electro-dub duo who should really start producing for some rappers. I think their heavy beats will really mesh with a Rawse-like vocal. Their starting to dive into remixing some artists, similar to how Ratatat came onto the scene. Best of luck.

Bethlehem, PA (or Lehigh, rather) seems to be a breeding ground for talented mash-up artists (5 & A Dime is also a Mountain Hawk). Jared Lucas, aka Kap Slap, just came out with his latest album, AA: Audio Appropriation, on the 11th – it’s a compilation of much of his recently released tracks.

Olu’s got some serious cojones with the types of songs that he samples (A Day To Remember’s Monument [Song not shown, but it’s on youtube], Rebecca Black’s Friday, and Colbie Collait’s Magic – Also Ratatat’s Loud Pipes, but Ratatat is great to rap over). He’s a prolific up-and-comer who’s very underrated. Check him out here.